Al and Barbara Cain Living Memorial Award
Megan Pham & Lillian Shern
Megan Pham graduated Winter 2025 with a B.S. in Psychology with Honors, Thesis: The Moderating Effect of Culture on Loneliness and Well-Being, Mentor: Shinobu Kitayama
Lillian Shern graduated Winter 2025 with a B.A. in Psychology with Honors, Thesis: Surviving the Cut: Understanding Emotional Responses and Social Behavior Among Layoff Survivors, Mentor: Mari Kira
Anne Rudo Memorial Award
Jennifer Alvarado & Estefania Bou Assaf
Jennifer Alvarado is majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and is involved in initiatives through Michigan Community Scholars Program that emphasizes social justice and civic engagement.
Estefania Bou Assaf is majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and through UROP joined the “Bilingual Brain: Chinese & Spanish Language and Reading Development in Children” lab, conducting cognitive tests on bilingual children.
Edward Chang Diversity Research Award
Sahana Raja graduated Winter 2025 with a Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience B.S. with Honors
Thesis: Growing Up in Adversity: The Effects of Neighborhood Disadvantage and Toxicant Exposure on Youth Brain Structure
Mentor: Luke Hyde
Lorraine Nadelman Honors Thesis Award in Developmental Psychology
Gabriela Muniz Chams graduated Winter 2025 with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience with Highest Honors
Thesis: Who’s Done It? Sentence Interpretation in Spanish- English Bilingual Children
Mentor: Ioulia Kovelman
Louis Bernstein Undergraduate Psychology Research Award
Kayla Drifka & Emily Huang
Kayla Drifka is majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience and completing an Honors thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Meghan Martz and Dr. Jennifer Cummings titled, “Examining Reward-Related Self-Regulation in Adolescents: A Multimodal Analysis.”
Emily Huang is majoring in Psychology and will be completing an Honors thesis under the mentorship of Julie Boland, her thesis will explore interpersonal brain synchrony (IBS) during natural, unscripted conversations, using EEG hyperscanning. Her study aims to explore how brain activity between two people aligns over time, potentially reflecting engagement, cooperation, and conversational dynamics.
Martha Muenzer Memorial Awards
Lejla Pargan & Anastasia Zhang
Lejla Pargan is majoring in Psychology and will be working on her thesis next year under the mentorship of Mari Kira, studying "Mutual identity work across generations: Relational identity exploration among Bosnian refugees and their American-born descendants."
Anastasia Zhang majoring in Psychology and will be working on her thesis next year under the mentorship of Annelise Madison, "Exploring independent and joint effects of early life adversity and marital distress on health outcomes: A longitudinal examination"
Tanner Memorial Award
Zoe Li & Hailey Prokop
Zoe Li graduated Winter 2025 with a B.S. in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience, Thesis: “GABA Levels, Neural Distinctiveness, and Memory Performance in Older Adults.”
Mentors: Molly Simmonite and Dr. Thad Polk
Hailey Prokop graduated Winter 2025 with a B.A. in Psychology with Honors, Thesis: “Exploring Life Outcomes and Early Experiences Among Transgender Individuals: A Mixed Methods Study.”
Mentors: Katie Jodl and Lindsay Bornheimer.
W.B Pillsbury Prize
Isabelle Dugan & Nick Love
Isabelle Dugan obtained her Biopsychology, Cognition, & Neuroscience B.S. with Highest Honors, for her thesis titled "Take it or Leave it: The Evolution of Possession in Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)," under the mentorship of Alexandra Rosati.
Nick Love obtained his Psychology B.A. with Highest Honors, for his thesis titled "Creating Space: The Role of Counterspaces in Sense of Belonging and Community for Black Students at Predominantly White Institutions," under the mentorship of Myles Durkee.
